Special Events Stories & Photos

Rolling PHor a Cure Bunco Tournament June 2011

Celebrating Hope with Inspired Events

Amy (second from left) with three friends at the Rolling PHor a Cure Bunco Tournament

Special event fundraisers serve a wide variety of purposes in providing hope to the PH community: events are active ways to help find a PH cure, and they help family, friends and neighbors gain a better understanding of a misunderstood illness. To our volunteers who dedicate their time and enthusiasm to making them happen, events can act as a form of self-expression, celebration, or even healing. Meet Amy, one of those event planners. Amy infused her creativity into a first-time event, the Rolling PHor a Cure Bunco Tournament, which raised more than $3,000 for PHA and allowed her to mark an important milestone in her PH journey.

Amy hosted Rolling PHor a Cure at a local church hall in June and began the planning process for the event in late March. Here she describes the meaning behind her event in more detail.

Can you briefly describe what Bunco is?

Bunco is a dice game, played in rounds. Players take turns rolling the dice, trying to accumulate as many points as possible to win each round. The game is played at tables of four in competing teams of two. A “bunco” is when you roll three of a kind of the round in which you are playing. It’s a social game that is lots of fun!

What or who was your inspiration for planning this event?

I wanted to celebrate my one-year anniversary of being diagnosed with PH. PHA has been a tremendous help in getting me through the first year, and I wanted to help give back.

How was the tournament formatted? What was the schedule of events for the evening?

Bunco players in actionRegistration started at 6:30 p.m. People checked in and then mingled with each other, ate some food and checked out the items available for the silent auction. At 7:30 p.m. the game started. We played one full round. At the end of the round, people were able to make bids on the silent auction items, and we gave out door prizes. We then played another round. When that round was done, we gave everyone five more minutes to bid on the silent auction items, and we gave away the remaining door prizes. We then announced the winners of the game as well as the silent auction.

Who attended the event? Where were they from?

It was mostly family and friends who attended the event. There were a few ladies from the church who came, as well as friends of friends. Mostly everyone was from the local area. My dad flew in from Maine and totally surprised me!

Are there any volunteers you would like to recognize?

My mom – she helped me more than anyone. She was there through every step of the process, and it definitely wouldn’t have been so successful without her help.

Briefly describe what it was like planning an event for the first time. Was it what you had expected?

It was a lot of work! But definitely worth it in the end. It was difficult not knowing how many people would actually attend, so I guessed high for planning. I figured it would be better to have more than not enough! Also the advertising part was difficult. For me, word of mouth was the most successful.

What did you learn? Do you have any advice for others doing similar events?

I learned to go with the flow. I finally realized in the end that no matter how many people came, we were all going to have fun and how ever much money we raised for PHA was more than they had the day before! I just really wanted it to be a success – and it was! I can’t wait to do it again next year. I am going to do it at a different time of year; I think that will help to get even more people to attend.

What did this event mean to you?

The event was marking a milestone for me. I made it through my first year with PH with a smile on my face. It hasn’t been the easiest year, but I am doing very well and I am extremely grateful for that. It is important to me to spread the word about PH and to raise money for PHA. No other organization does so much and offers so much hope to the PH community.

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